When a new telecommunication switch is added to a telecommunications network, it is likely that the routing and trunking data that will be used by that switch for the routing of telephone calls will be loaded into the new switch from a central location, such as a Network Service Provisioning Center (NSPC). Some of the routing and trunking data are also loaded locally at the switch by a craftsperson. Also, the routing and trunking data that all other switches in the network will need to route calls to the new switch are loaded, at about the same time, into those switches in a similar manner. One aspect of such a procedure is that the provisioning of trunking data must be coordinated with the provisioning of routing data since trunking and routing are separate processes. That is, if the transport capability of a group of trunks connecting to a destination changes, then the routing data at all other switches of the associated network need to be updated to reflect that change. For example, if a local Central Office (CO) is "rehomed" from one toll switch to another toll switch, then the routing tables in the other toll switches of the associated toll network need to be updated to change the way in which the toll switches route calls to the local CO. Moreover, such updating is typically done from the NSPC and is done at each of the toll switches almost at the same time to minimize the incorrect routing of calls destined for the local CO--which means that the routing data for each such switch needs to be correct and entered correctly into the associated routing table.
It can be appreciated from the foregoing discussion that the provisioning of routing and trunking data in a telecommunications network is indeed complex and labor intensive if the number of switches forming the associated network is large.